Friday, March 21, 2014

Project 3 ~ Prepping Raised Beds for Spring Planting

Today was perfect for working in the garden, so I

decided to finish up Project 3.

Last week I added hoops to the raised beds so I can apply plastic or netting. The hoops are 8-foot lengths of half-inch PVC pipe. I drove a 1-foot piece of rebar on each side of the beds two feet apart. Then you slip the ends of the pipe over the rebar and you have an instant hoop. Covering them with plastic allows me to get a head start on the garden. Applying it early will help warm the soil and by next week, I can start planting seeds of cold weather plants such as kale. Once it is warm enough on a consistent basis to remove the plastic, I will replace it with bird netting to keep out the chickens and any other wild critters that may roam into the yard and decide to feast on my vegetables.

Today I picked up 10 bags of mixed compost and cow manure at Lowe's and used two of them for each bed to improve the soil. The hardest part of this project was carrying the 40-pound bags of manure from the car to the garden, so I did it first to get it over with.

I worked the manure along with worm castings into the soil. I probably should have done it before adding the hoops, but the ground was still to frozen last week for mixing, and it wasn't difficult to work between the hoops.

LOOK AT THIS!!!! OH!!!!!! What a beautiful scene friend! I love everything about this post! You got so much done!! And look at those hoops!!! I can not wait to see your crops! A wonderful weekend to you!! And happy spring!! Nicole xoxo

Preparing the raised beds is a satisfying activity. You look prepared for the changeable weather. We're due for a drop in temperature overnight and frost at the moment so some covering is important and to protect your plants later on from birds. You've made a good job with yours.

This is so awesome Cindy! I am loving your projects posts so much. I never thought of the hoops before. I have raised beds but this will be an great addition to them to keep the little visitors that come at night and nibble on things.I also enjoyed your stairway redo. It looks so fresh and lovely after all that work. I want to thank you for your lovely comment you left on my guest blogger post at Kris'. You are such a sweet friend!many hugs...

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I'm a mother of one "out-of-college" daughter, inheritor of one cat,a dog and four chickens, full time medical secretary, gardener, painter of furniture, fixer-upper and handy woman around my house, passionate about decorating, lover of flea markets and yard sales, restorer of old things, but most importantly, a daughter of God. Blogging is a way to journal and share my life, passions, and journey with anyone interested enough to follow along.